[Kurzer Abriss der Geschichte der “Theosophischen Gesellschaft.”]
Translation from the German by Robert Hutwohl[1]
In 1875, at New York, some persons of eminence met to exchange their views on the higher problems of mankind, which have occupied the minds of all nations from time immemorial, and will continue to do so. The majority of them had searched in vain for higher knowledge in modern church life. Some of them had devoted themselves to the study of materialistic rationalism, which was considered “good manners” at the time and, to quote Goethe, “searched eagerly for treasures, but only found earthworms.” Others had thrown themselves into the arms of spiritism in their thirst for tangible evidence of the persistence of the soul after the death of the body, but here too, after years of laborious research, experienced great disappointment; for the communications of the alleged spirits of the deceased were either of such a subordinate nature that they made such a continued existence, connected with the loss of intelligence, appear a pitiable state of affairs, or in the cases in which these communications showed a degree of acceptable intelligence, the source of it could be found in quite different causes than in the intellect of the “deceased.”
Among the persons concerned, was a Russian lady named Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, née Hahn. This lady had made great journeys in the Caucasus, in Turkestan, India and Egypt, had seen many things which the European school wisdom cannot dream of, and in her metaphysical studies she had discovered many mysteries or had been taught them by the initiates. She possessed, moreover, a peculiar psychic organization and willpower which enabled her, by her own power and at will, to bring about the “inexplicable” miracles marveled at by the spiritualists, and thereby was to confirm the natural explanations which she gave about them.
Under the circumstances, it is not surprising that H. P. Blavatsky’s reputation spread without her permission, and scholars from all walks of life flocked to this society, which was called the “Theosophical Society” and had elected, as its president, an American colonel, Col. Henry S. Olcott. The name “theosophical” instead of “philosophical” society was chosen, it seems, because the members of the society intended not to be satisfied with a mere theoretical speculation in relation to the soul forces inherent in human nature, but wanted to gain the practical knowledge about them, by exercising them. But this self-knowledge of one’s own inner nature rightly belongs to the realm of the knowledge of God or Theosophy.
Due to Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and the modern scientific martyrdom she has suffered as a result of her humanitarian endeavors, we shall return to that in a subsequent issue. For today, it is enough for us to trace the fate of the “Theosophical Society.”
Among the members who flocked to this association were seekers of truth from all walks of life, learned and unlearned, Christian clergymen, Jewish rabbis, philosophers of all kinds, and also many who were merely attracted by curiosity; for as there was no article of faith mentioned, no master “by whose words one ought to swear,” differences of opinion were no bar to accession, and each had the right to assert his own views, and the others if they could, to convince, as is the case in this society today. In fact, the opinions of the members varied widely. But how, for example, in a “geographical society” the members may differ as to where to look for the sources of the Nile, while everyone agrees that the Nile has an origin, so too were and are all members of the “Theosophical Society” agreed that every existence must have a reason, a cause. Finding this cause was and is the task not only of the members of the “Theosophical Society,” but of every reasonable person, even if some of us in the course of our investigations have found a better guiding star than Darwin and Haeckel or modern theology, so they are certainly not to be deplored.
While the new society was gaining momentum in America, and the public, ignorant of the underlying philosophy of “occult phenomena,” occupied themselves with the “miracles” recounted by H. P. Blavatsky. Blavatsky, on the one hand, was regarded with idolatrous admiration by the superstitious, and on the other hand, was also decried by the ignorant as a “swindler.” The founders of the society engaged in lively correspondence in India, the land of secrets and “miracles,” with the Arya Samaj and the well-known Swami Dayananda, who played a role in India at the time, comparable to Luther’s Reformation in Europe. Branches were formed in India and Ceylon, eminent Buddhists and Brahmins took part in them, and as it soon became evident that India was the place to procure literary treasures and knowledge of a science of which Western scholars are only now beginning to learn the A-B-Cs of this knowledge, the headquarters of the “Theosophical Society” moved to Bombay in 1878, after branch societies had also been formed in various parts of Europe during this period.
In India, the “American delegation,” as they were called, was received with great rejoicing. Just as the Jews of old could not understand that the kingdom of Christ was not of this world, but expected him as a king of the Israelites, to put an end to Roman rule, so too the common people of India believed the American ruler would restore the glory of Āryāvartha [ancient India], a fact of which Col. Olcott was certainly under no great illusion. It is perhaps due to this expectation that a multitude of eminent Rājas and Brahmins joined in the cause with great enthusiasm. But real yogis, realizing the true purpose of society, also participated; there took place an unprecedented fraternization between Indians and Europeans, and the consequence of this was that the members of society gained access to sanctuaries which formerly had been hermetically sealed to the eyes of all Europeans, and a multitude of manuscripts came to light, after which our profane scholars had previously sought in vain and even doubted their existence. After some time, the headquarters was moved to Adyar, a suburb of Madras, where it is still located.
Since the activities of the “Theosophical Society” influenced the thinking classes among the Indians, even without being asked to do so, to reflect on themselves and on the truth underlying all religions, it is understandable that this self-reflection became a thorn in the side of the missionaries and overpowered the Protestants there. Just as H. P. Blavatsky was attacked by the spiritists in America because she destroyed their favorite illusions by tearing away the mask from the spiritist spirits and showing them in their true forms, so too did she arouse the deadly hatred of the Christian missionaries by destroying the number of proselytes and accordingly, the income of the church decreased to the same degree when the native “pagans” saw that true Christianity could only be found within oneself, and that without this inner knowledge an outward change of religion was only deception, hypocrisy and pretense.
Although Col. Olcott was the external director of the Society, H. P. Blavatsky was the soul of it, and the chief object therefore was to ruin its character, in order to get at the Society, for the constitution of the latter contained absolutely nothing in which even the most subtle lawyer could find something to criticize, since its whole basis is the practical recognition of universal human rights, already universally recognized in theory, and the advancement of scientific inquiry. Thus, in 1883, when H. P. Blavatsky was visiting Europe with Col. Olcott, the missionaries thought the moment was right to deal the “Theosophical Society” a long-prepared deadly trick, and after meeting a couple named Coulomb, who were employed at headquarters, they published a series of partly purchased, partly forged documents in which H. P. Blavatsky poked fun at the credulity of several of their distinguished admirers. Not unjustly, they reckoned that these admirers, offended in their vanity, would renounce H. P. Blavatsky and turn against society. But things turned out differently.
When Col. Olcott and H. P. Blavatsky departed from India, a board of directors was appointed for the “Theosophical Society,” of which the writer of these lines acted as Chairman. Coincidentally (?) we got knowledge of the machinations of the missionaries, and so it happened that on the same day that they dropped their bombshell, the answer to it was already printed.
The reason for the persecutions to which H. P. Blavatsky was often exposed was due to the “occult phenomena,” some of which she produced voluntarily, some of which took place in her presence and some of which took place during her absence. For her, the thoughts of those present were an open book, and it seemed as if, as can be read in the legends of various saints, she was able to transport herself spiritually to distant places. In addition, she was in contact with other people in India and Tibet who possessed similar and even greater powers, who could work at a distance, and so it was that during her absence in Europe, on special occasions, if any advice was needed, letters, written by an invisible hand, came to us containing the relevant advice or explanations, etc. Such phenomena did not take place to amaze us when we received such letters. It was not for the purpose of proving that one could write letters by forces as yet unknown to European science; but, like every other letter, these had only the purpose of informing us of anything of interest to us. But the learned and unlearned rabble of England and America could see nothing more in such occult events (the occurrence of which unfortunately was not concealed), as an attempt to speculate on the credulity of the public, and the interference of outsiders in matters which had absolutely nothing to do with them gave rise to a new cause for the persecution of H. P. Blavatsky.
Indeed, owing to the boastfulness or blind enthusiasm of some members of the “Theosophical Society,” the well-known “Society for Psychical Research” in London, which utilized the study of haunting stories for the purpose of its existence, had heard of these phenomena [at Adyar], and as they associated them with spiritistic follies, this Society for Psychical Research sent a young man as their “expert” to India to investigate the matter. This is almost as if the honored reader of these lines wanted to come to Vienna to see for himself that my cousin in America, from whom I sometimes pretend to receive letters, really exists and that his letters were really written by him. Above all, it would be necessary for the cousin from America to come here himself to prove his identity to the expert.
But the “Cousin from America” did not come to satisfy the curiosity of the gentleman from London, the “Expert,” who knew nothing of the whole matter, saw his mission failed; but since, for better or for worse, he had to make a report on his program so as not to expose himself, he wrote a book about the things he had seen nothing about, in which he put forward his own invented theories as to how these things might have been done! and how he imagined them to have been made. This report was accepted by the relevant “ghost investigation society” and declared H. P. Blavatsky to be “the greatest impostor of this century,” although this explanation did not harm her in the eyes of those who knew her personally.
But as far as these much-mentioned occult phenomena are concerned, this is not the place to go into them in more detail. If an uneducated peasant, who knew absolutely nothing about chemistry, were shown a series of chemical experiments, he would think them frauds and sleight of hand. The greatest scholar in Europe, however, faces these occult phenomena like an uneducated peasant, because modern science knows next to nothing about the soul and its powers. Chemical experiments can only be understood, once one has studied the laws of chemistry. Only when one has become acquainted with the laws of the soul forces dormant in human nature can one understand their visible effects. What is called “hypnotism” today, but which was already known to Theophrastus Paracelsus and the ancients, is only the introduction to this higher natural science.
Throughout the newspapers of the world the battle raged to decide whether or not H. P. Blavatsky was a fraud. People rummaged through the novels she had written to find out whether the characters in them really existed or not, and rejoiced when they found something that was made up. One was then in the position of that hillbilly who came to the theater for the first time and then thought himself swindled when he had managed to discover that the houses on the stage were made of cardboard and that the actors in the comedy were just pretending they really got married.
If we look back on those events today, we cannot help but laugh, but back then the matter had its serious side. Now H. P. Blavatsky is dead and the slanders thrown against her by the first American journals are recanted[2]; an example that various German journals should emulate. All these persecutions were aimed directly at H. P. Blavatsky and only indirectly at the “Theosophical Society” inseparably linked with her; because, whatever one may criticize about the individual members of this Society, who are all only human and afflicted with human weaknesses, there is nothing to blame about the principles of this society, since it recognizes the truth as its highest position.
All persecutions directed against H. P. Blavatsky could not harm the progress of the “Theosophical Society.” On the contrary, they served to spread the reputation of the Theosophical Society over the entire world. The only thing that has harmed the theosophical cause is the blind zeal of foolish adherents who tried to defend it, gave free rein to their imagination and made the most exaggerated claims of the Adepts. But this could not be avoided, because in a society where almost everyone has access and everyone has the right to express their opinion as best they can, there are also views of all kinds society of accomplished theosophists. It is, so to speak, a soil in which the germs of self-knowledge lie hidden, and from which comparatively few trees finally grow. As with every new reform that came along, so here too there were nocturnal birds of all kinds, enthusiasts, dreamers and fanatics were attracted by the gleam of the newly kindled light, and many a passing storm was due to their presence. Gradually, however, the air has cleared; those who were not strong enough to bear the light withdrew into its darkness; others which found that the Society provided no basis for exploiting selfish or political purposes, resigned; but the majority of those who aspire to real liberty, believing that more can be done for the good of mankind by working together than by isolated efforts, came, and under the direction of Col. Olcott in India, Mrs. A. Besant in London and Wm. Q. Judge in America, the Society is approaching its future.[3]
Shakespeare says:
“When everything ripens towards the sun,
What blooms soon will bear early fruit.”
and the Bhagavad Gita says:
“Those who do not participate in the great evolution of the world will be left behind.”
The purpose of every theosophist is to do good; above all, however, to gain the necessary knowledge and strength. This power lies in the higher self-consciousness attained through the practice of virtue, and this is the only true Theosophy.
Notes:
[1] Short Sketch of the History of the “Theosophical Society.” [Kurzer Abriss der Geschichte der “Theosophischen Gesellschaft.” Franz Hartmann, M.D. Lotusblüten 1, no. 4 (January 1893), 69-86] {This article was reformatted from the original, but with the content unchanged other than fixing minor typos. Translation from the German by Robert Hutwohl, ©2025}
[2] New-York. “Sun.” October 1892.
[3] At the end of this number we received the news that in Steglitz near Berlin Dr. Hübbe-Schleiden has founded a “Theosophical Society” and we wish him every success. Dr. Hübbe-Schleiden is known as the author of several works on German East African colonies and as the editor of The Sphinx. His aspirations will serve to stimulate the urge for a deeper “transcendental” knowledge, and thereby also to stimulate the desire for that higher enlightenment which man cannot attain for himself, but which he can attain if he overcomes himself.